How to Dry and Cure Weed Fast & Easy

While marijuana will grow almost despite you, it is better to know what you are doing when developing it.

Still, if you have gotten this far, then you must know what you are doing.

It can cost anywhere from a couple hundred to a few thousand dollars to grow marijuana at home. And you will need to be just as attentive with your work and grow ethic during the harvesting and drying period as you were during the budding period.

It can take about 60 days before your budding weed plants are ready for harvesting. And even then, you should not start smoke smoking your bud straight from the plant.

After harvesting, marijuana buds are sticky and wet with pistils drenched in trichomes, tiny hair-like appendages covered with crystallized THC. It is a beautiful sight to behold.

However, these THC-drenched trichomes are fragile. They need to be dried and cured for an optimal high.

Additionally, your home-grown weed needs to be cured and dried for at least another 30 days in a two-stage process. Drying and curing your weed will allow the THC-drenched trichomes to reinfuse your weed with more potency.

And curing will dry out your weed sufficiently so that it burns easier when you smoke it.

It's your weed, and you are free to smoke it right from the plant. But if you dry it for two weeks at least and cure it for a few days, you will find your weed will be of higher potency and quality.

Just follow our informative two-part harvesting and drying guide, and you will always grow high-quality bud every time. We even have an FAQ for you at the end of this guide.

The best way to grow high-quality bud is via an all in one weed grow kit. 

Buy your grow kit from a Pot for Pot today. Our grow kits are high quality, legal, and delivered in highly discreet packaging.

Related: Is Marijuana Withdrawal Real?

How to Efficiently Harvest Homegrown Weed

Now that you have finally completed and physically endured the entire growth cycle of your marijuana plant, it's time to smoke weed, right?

Well, not yet. When growing marijuana, it is essential to remember that patience is a virtue.

First, you need to harvest your buds properly, which we will discuss now. And in the accompanying section, we discuss drying.

Harvesting 101

Your marijuana plants will be ready for harvest once the flowering process ends. It can take anywhere between 50 and 60 days for the flowering cycle to initiate and finalize.

However, the 60-day flowering rule is generalized. Some marijuana plants can ripen sooner or later according to their growing circumstances.

So, how do you know if your marijuana plant is ready for harvesting?

The best way to determine if your plant's buds are ready for harvest is to closely examine the colors of the tiny hairs on the plants. The colors of these tiny hairs on your buds, and the crystals covering those pistils, will tell you when they are ready for harvest.

Those tiny hairs are called "pistils. And the pistils will be covered in crystals called "trichomes." The color of the pistils and trichomes will indicate the rising or weakening potency of the bud's THC content.

As your plant's buds ripen, the pistils covering them will change in color from orange to brown hues. This color change is a good sign that your buds are ready for harvest.

Additionally, you should look at the color of the trichomes, or THC crystals, covering the pistils. As the buds become potent with THC, the trichome crystals will change from cloudy to amber.

The cloudier the amber color of your trichomes, the higher the THC content in your buds will contain.

And there are a few other ways you can look for signs that your plant is becoming ready for harvest.

Are the stems of the plant broadening more? Are the leaves changing color to a yellow tinge?

If you notice these aesthetic signs, then your plant is ready for harvest. Just make sure that you use the 60-day harvesting window as a general guideline.

Timing is everything when growing marijuana. Wait too long to harvest your weed, and the THC concentration in the amber-colored and cloudy trichomes and buds will diminish considerably.

Consequences of Waiting Too Long to Harvest

When it comes to harvesting your buds, you should adopt a Goldilocks-type mentality; don't harvest too soon and not too late.

Wait too long to harvest your weed, then the psychoactive effects of the THC inside the buds will deteriorate appreciably. THC, also known as tetrahydrocannabinol, is the main psychoactive compound that produces the marijuana high.

Wait too long to harvest, and the THC in the plant will convert into cannabinol, or CBN, a non-psychoactive compound.

If you don't harvest at all, then the THC and CBN will degrade in a way that has a more narcotic effect when smoked instead of psychoactive. (And the point of smoking or ingesting THC is experiencing the psychoactive effects.)

When you harvest and cure or dry out, your marijuana buds will ultimately determine the psychoactive results you get.

And the tools you use while harvesting your plant can help you to harvest at the optimum time.

Magnifying Tools

Determining the exact moment when you should begin harvesting your plants is a skill you will have to perfect. And sometimes, you need tools to perfect a skill.

You should learn to use magnifying tools to help you aesthetically determine when your marijuana plants are ripe for harvest.

In the same way, a jeweler uses magnifying tools to examine fine jewels, you should use magnifying tools to examine pistils, trichomes, changing colors, and other harvesting signs of the plant.

Here are some inexpensive magnifying tools that you should consider getting to help you perfect the visual analysis of determining harvesting time:

• Handheld Magnifier
• Digital Microscope
• Jeweler's Loupe
• Magnifying Tools

OK! You have harvested your weed. So, now it is ready to smoke, right?

I hope you remember what was previously said about patience and growing marijuana.

On top of the 60-day harvest window, you need at least 14 days for the drying and curing process. And yes, drying and curing is a two-stage process.

So, after harvest, you may need to wait a month before smoking for proper curing.

Marijuana buds after harvest are comprised of over 70% water. If you don't dry it and try to smoke it, it will taste bad and burn too slowly and inefficiently as you smoke it.

Curing is a chemical process that allows chlorophyll and the natural sugars in the plant to decay naturally to increase the THC potency.

And no, you don't necessarily have to cure your weed, but you should, and we will explain why.

The point is that while your harvest contains a lot of THC, a lot of it is inactive or will have to compete with other chemicals as you smoke, lessening its psychoactive effects. And that is why you should dry out and cure your weed.

After all, nothing worthwhile is ever easy to attain.

So, let's talk about the drying and curing process.

Drying and Curing Your Harvest

Growing weed at home with A Pot for Pot grow kit can be an exciting process. However, the process will require a lot of patience and discipline from you.

Contrary to popular belief, you shouldn't just pluck buds from a stem after harvest and start smoking. Freshly harvested weed buds are wet and mainly comprised of water.

And while your harvested buds are rich in THC, the psychoactive compound that gets you high, the THC is relatively inactive or will compete with the natural sugars and chlorophyll in the buds when you smoke it.

Weed needs to dry out and dry age for a while to become psychoactive and viable for a THC high.

Look at it this way – When you buy green bananas, it is usually a good idea to wait a few days until they ripen and taste better.

After waiting about 60 days to harvest your weed plant, the entire drying out and curing process, a two-stage process, can take up to a month.

Before we explain the drying and curing process, we should explain the benefits of the processes.

Patience is a virtue. And if you have gone through all of the effort to grow and harvest your weed, you should take the time to dry and cure it efficiently.

After all, what is the point of growing weed if you can't get the most psychoactive potential out of smoking it?

Unfortunately, it can take 14 days to dry and 14 days to cure your weed.

Actually, the longer you cure your weed, the better the results. You could cure your weed for six months.

In many ways, weed must be dried and cured in a sterile environment like a fine wine.

And the benefits of drying and curing your weed outweigh the drawbacks of the waiting period. 

Benefits of Drying and Curing Weed

It is important to also differentiate between the "drying" and "curing" processes. Drying refers to the process of evaporating as much water from your harvest as possible.

Curing is a chemical process. By storing your buds in a sterile and airtight environment, like in jars or heavy-duty zip-lock bags after drying, curing will cause the natural sugars and chlorophyll in the buds to naturally decay.

The available THC in your harvested bud is inactive and is not as potent as after harvesting.

Drying and curing them will decay unnecessary compounds in the plant and make the THC more potent.

Think of curing like the fermentation process in winemaking; wait a few weeks or months, and your weed will be potent and have a nice flavor when smoked.

Here are several reasons why you should dry and cure your weed.

After harvesting, your weed will be comprised of over 70% water.

Drying and curing will help to evaporate excess water.

The more water in your weed, the worse it will taste when you smoke it. It will also burn more inefficiently. Water-wet weed will cause a harsh toke when inhaled and will cause you to cough a lot.

Excess water in your weed will also cause it to become moldy and attract unwanted bacteria.

Chlorophyll is a plant component that makes plants green-colored and helps them absorb sunlight and convert it into nourishment. As chlorophyll and natural sugars decay during the curing process, your buds will change colors to yellow, brown, or orange.

The color changes will indicate that THC potency is high.

The chemical process inherent in curing also improves the flavor of the weed as you smoke it.

Freshly harvested weed will have a grass-like or hay-like flavor because of the high levels of natural sugars and chlorophyll in the bud.

The drying process should take about 14-days. But the longer you allow your buds to cure in a vacuum-sealed container, the more potent the buds will become. However, 14-days should be a minimum for curing.

OK, now let's discuss the drying and curing processes.

Drying 101

After harvesting your weed buds, you should use the most efficient method to dry them, not necessarily the fastest.

With that being said, we will also show you several other options to dry your weed quickly if you like. However, the patient slow-drying technique is always the best.

Let's start with the trim and dry method.

Manual Trim and Dry

To start the trim and dry technique, begin by removing the iconic fan leaves of the plant. You want to trim your plants of fan leaves before you hang the buds to dry.

The fan leaves retain a lot of water. If you leave the fan leaves on, then the ambient temperature around the buds will always be humid since the fan leaves contain so much water.

It will take much longer for your buds to dry. And your buds may become moldy before they dry out. So cut away the fan leaves or trim them down as much as possible.

After you have cut and trimmed down the fan leaves, you can start cutting branches just below where the bud is located.

You can hang each budding branch on a tiered rack.

Or you can tie each budding branch to a coat hanger. Or you can use a laundry line in a room to hang your freshly harvested buds.

You could buy an agricultural trimming machine to trim your fan leaves quickly. However, a trimming machine could shave off your THC trichome-drenched pistils or bruise and damage your buds.

If you have come this far in growing your own home-grown marijuana via grow kit, you might as well continue with a hands-on approach.

You should keep in mind that marijuana buds may grow in tiered bunches. 

So, the uppermost buds may become dryer a little quicker than the bottommost buds due to light exposure differences. In these circumstances, you may want to dry in stages. 

Hang Your Buds in a Dry and Darkened Room

Your freshly harvested weed must be dried in a cool, well-ventilated, dark, and temperature-maintained place. You should pay close attention to ambient temperatures and humidity levels in the room where you dry your weed.

Patience is a virtue when you are growing, harvesting, drying, and curing marijuana. Be prepared to adjust your drying technique as circumstances demand.

Drying your weed in humid and wet environments will only accelerate mold growth on your harvest.

Drying your weed in natural or artificial sunlight will ruin the final product's potency, color, and taste. Natural sunlight will bleach your buds and ruin any natural colors created as they ripen.

The room where you dry your buds should be dark – there should be no natural sunlight streaming in. Only use artificial light to check on them and turn them off after checking on them.

Your drying darkroom should have a maintained temperature of anywhere between 60 degrees (15.5 Celsius) and 70 degrees Fahrenheit (21.1 Celsius).

If your drying darkroom gets any hotter than 70 degrees Fahrenheit, then you will essentially ruin your weed. Keep a thermometer in your drying darkroom to continually monitor the temperature.

The humidity level of your drying darkroom should be around 45% to 55%. The humidity levels of the drying darkroom must be carefully maintained. You can use a dehumidifier, air conditioner, or multiple small fans to optimize ventilation and maintain humidity levels.

Keep in mind that the smell of weed in your drying darkroom will only increase and become more pungently overpowering as your buds dry out. (The smell will be pungent in a positive sense since it will smell like weed.) Just consider the smell if you want your grow operation to be discreet.

It should take about 14 days for your weed to dry out thoroughly.

Inspect Your Drying Weed Daily

Check your drying weed daily with magnifying instruments. You want to check for signs of creeping mold or if your buds are over-drying.

Practice rotating or turning the hanging buds or turning them over if they are laying on a rack to make sure that they dry out evenly.

After drying your buds in a temperature and humidity-controlled room for 14 days, you can begin to test their dryness level. Bend the stem. If the dried stem snaps like a twig instead of bending, then your weed should be dried out and ready for curing. (More on curing in a bit).

This is the most optimal method to dry your weed, and we recommend it highly. The drying process should not be rushed. You should strive for quality, not necessarily quantity when it comes to marijuana growing at home.

However, here are a few other methods you can use as a quicker drying shortcut if you wish. And we will also list the worst ways to dry your weed as well.

Related: How Long Does Marijuana Stay in Your System?

Experimental Ways to Dry Your Weed Quickly

Drying your marijuana harvest the correct way can take 14 days, at the very least. And while the slow and patient 14-day method is the best way to dry weed, there are other drying shortcuts you can experiment with.

Keep in mind that some experimental drying processes are better than others relative to your circumstances.

If you opt to use an experimental drying process for your weed, you should still closely monitor the drying process. Don't use an experimental shortcut drying process for your weed and forget about it for a few days.

Always use your magnifying instruments to inspect your drying weed and monitor temperatures and humidity. If ambient temperatures spike higher than 70 degrees Fahrenheit (21.1 Celsius), then your weed will be ruined and have a bad taste.

And if the humidity rises over 55%, then mold can develop on your weed.

If you choose an experimental method to dry your weed quickly, always remember to monitor the situation closely.

Employ the dryness test to see if they are dry. If the stem or branches snap like a dry twig, it should be dry enough. If the stem or branches bend easily, then the weed needs more time to dry.

Now, here are several experimental drying methods you can test out.

Drying Buds in a Boiler Room

If you have a boiler room in your house, then you can use it to dry your weed in under five days or less.

Boiler rooms are used to supply a house with tolerable warm and hot water. Boiler rooms that are well managed have controlled temperatures and minimal humidity.

So, boiler rooms can be an optimal place to dry your weed quicker.

You could put your marijuana in brown paper bags and then hang them from laundry lines in the boiler room. They could be dry in three to five days.

Or you could hang your buds unprotected on clotheslines in the boiler room as well. However, you should only use this quick-drying method if you have a lot of weed to dry.

The boiler room can dry your weed within three to five days. Still, this drying method will make your boiler room work harder, so your energy bill might surge.

Additionally, drying your harvested weed in the boiler room should not affect the taste.

Drying Weed in Brown Paper Bags

Drying your harvested weed in brown paper bags can help you to shorten the drying process to six or seven days.

To expedite this process, you should cut and trim your marijuana buds into smaller popcorn-sized pieces. Take the time to meticulously trim and cut down your weed buds to a smaller size.

Smaller bud pieces will dry faster with the brown paper bag method.

Place the popcorn-sized pieces of bud in durable paper bags. Don't stuff the brown paper bags to bursting with weed. Leave the brown paper bags halfway to two-thirds empty to allow for even drying and air circulation.

If you stuff as much wet and recently harvested weed as possible in brown paper bags, you are just asking for mold problems.

Place the brown paper bags in a cool, dry, temperature-controlled room.

You could hang the weed-filled paper bags from clotheslines or place the bags on racks. Flatten the brown paper bags so that the popcorn-sized buds have aerating room to dry faster.

Your weed should be dry within six to seven days.

Ambient Laptop Computer Heat Drying Method

Have you ever noticed how your laptop computer can sometimes get very warm or hot? This occurs because your laptop is mitigating the heat energy supplied to it from the battery.

Additionally, computer equipment heats up a lot when in operation.

The heat is then vented and dispersed.

You can use the ambient heat created by your laptop computer to dry your harvested weed. However, this drying method should only be used to dry small amounts of harvested weed in a small brown paper bag.

Trim and cut down your weed into small popcorn-sized pieces. Place the weed into a small brown paper bag. Flatten the brown paper bag so that the weed has room to aerate and dry evenly.

Place the bag on the hot spot of your laptop or on top of the laptop near the heat vent where heat energy is dispersed. Turn over the paper bag once every few minutes.

Repeat this method for one to two hours or as long as needed. If you dry a small amount of harvested weed, it could take an hour to complete.

You can use the dry testing method on the stems and branches to see if they are dry.

Your weed may still taste harsh after this method, but it will be dry.

Decarboxylation (Drying Weed in the Oven)

You can dry your weed in the oven via a process called decarboxylation. Decarboxylation is a heat drying process that evaporates the water in your weed quickly, if not efficiently.

Only use a small amount of harvested weed to dry out via the decarboxylation method.

Trim the harvested weed into popcorn-sized pieces. If the weed buds are larger than popcorn-sized, then they cook, dry out destructively and burn long before they dry out enough for you to smoke.

Place the popcorn-sized weed buds on a cookie sheet on an oven tray.

The oven temperature should be pre-heated anywhere between 125 degrees Fahrenheit (51.6 Celsius) and 140 degrees Fahrenheit (60 Celsius). Don't heat the oven above 140 degrees or you risk burning your weed.

Use a cooking timer throughout this process. Bake the weed for ten minutes at the most. Flip over the buds once at the halfway mark to help with even drying.

Using decarboxylation to dry out your weed will quickly evaporate and remove excess water from your buds. But decarboxylation will only remove the water from your buds quickly; you will notice that your buds will have a harsh flavor when smoked.

Watch your drying buds in the oven! And take them out at the ten-minute mark. 

The Sun Drying Method

The sun-drying method can help you dry your weed within two or three days.

Trim and cut your weed into popcorn-sized pieces. Place small amounts of weed in several paper bags. Your paper bags should not be filled to bursting with weed. There won't be any room for aeration, and you are more likely to see mold proliferation before adequate drying.

And if the bag is full, the weed at the top of the bag may dry out while the weed at the bottom gets moldy.

Tie the paper bags to the clothesline with pins or place them on racks outside in the sun. (If you place paper bags with weed on a drying rack, then make sure to flatten the bag to help aeration. And flip the bags over every few hours to aid in even drying.)

The issue with this technique is that you need to monitor the weather. The weather should be sunny with low humidity. Don't use this drying method if you have not monitored the weather.

The ambient heat of the sun should remove humidity while the paper bag dries out the weed. Try not to use plastic bags – the plastic will pool moisture and encourage mold growth.

Only use a small amount of weed when employing the sun drying method.

Keep in mind that the sun drying method has its drawbacks.

Direct sunlight destroys the terpenes in weed. Terpenes are compounds that give marijuana its signature scent.

And direct sunlight destroys and dissolves the cannabinoids in weed, the psychoactive compounds that get you high.

And if you aren't monitoring your local weather, a sudden rainstorm can drench and ruin your harvested buds.

The Freeze Drying Method

You can use an industrial freeze-drying machine to dry your weed, but you must be knowledgeable in chemistry to get the optimal results you are looking for.

Freeze drying units quickly freeze your weed in a low-pressure vacuum chamber. The unit turns all moisture in your weed into water.

Then the water crystals are sucked from the weed via the vacuum setting. Your weed will then retain its natural terpenes, cannabinoids, and potency without any moisture.

The process takes about 21 hours to complete. The amount of weed you can freeze dry with this method depends on the size of the freeze-drying unit.

The only downside to the freeze-drying method is that freeze-drying units are very expensive. You should understand basic chemistry when operating such machinery.

Freeze-drying machines may be more suitable for industrial-scale marijuana farmers and scientific researchers.

Now that we have discussed these methods let's discuss the absolute worst ways to dry out your weed quickly.

The Worst Methods to Dry Out Your Weed Quickly

Many of these methods are like the Monkey's Paw method of drying marijuana.

These methods of drying out your weed may work, but you will lose something in the process. 

Drying Out Weed with a Gas-Powered or Electric Heater

You can use electric or gas-powered heaters to dry out your weed quickly. However, you risk experiencing severely uneven drying, mold, and fire hazards.

You can place recently harvested weed on racks or hang them from clotheslines. There should be space and room between the weed buds for even aeration; wet buds touching each other with a heat source nearby will result in mold proliferation.

Ensure that the room you use is dark, well ventilated, and dry.

Your biggest problem will be choosing the distance between the heater and your weed. If the heater is too far, the weed will mold. If the heater is too close, the weed will burn.

Still, the weed closest to the electric or gas-powered heater will dry out quicker than the weed farthest from the heater.

Don't use multiple heaters in this process. Too much heat will be generated, which will burn the weed, and it is a fire hazard that could burn down your house.

Your best option is to use small amounts of weed and monitor progress closely. Don't turn on a gas-powered or electric heater to dry weed in a room in your house and then go on vacation for a week. Monitor the situation hourly and daily.

This is a trial-and-error process. You will need to test the dryness of the stems or branches daily to see if they are ready.

It could take days for your weed to dry. But you risk mold proliferation, and the natural weed flavor will be lost. You also risk getting a hefty energy bill.

Dry Out Your Weed With a Hair Dryer and Shoe Box

The hairdryer and shoebox method of drying weed is the small-scale method of the gas-powered or electric heater drying method.

So, instead of a room, you use a shoebox to dry small amounts of weed with heat.

Trim and cut your harvested weed into popcorn-sized pieces. Lay the pieces on the bottom of the shoebox. Space out the pieces so that they are not touching each other. Don't fill the shoebox to bursting with weed.

Put the shoebox top on and tape it on. Don't enclose it with tape. Use one or two pieces to keep the shoebox top on. Cut a hole in the top to accommodate the nozzle of a hairdryer. Stick the hairdryer nozzle in the shoebox and activate it on a low heat setting.

Check on the weed every ten or twenty minutes. Turn over the weed buds after 30 minutes or an hour.

The hairdryer and shoebox method should take an hour or two, depending on how much weed you have in the box.

If you use the highest setting, you will burn your weed. The smoke flavor will be harsh. And you may see spikes in your energy bills.

Drying Out Weed in the Microwave

While we don't endorse using a microwave to dry out the weed, you can use a microwave to dry out small amounts of weed.

Don't try stuffing a microwave full of weed and then turning it on the highest setting and walking away! You will destroy your weed and potentially cause a fire hazard.

Use a microwave to dry a few buds at a time.

After placing the marijuana inside the microwave, you can set the power setting at 50%. The problem here is that every microwave has differing energy settings.

This process could take 5 minutes or ten minutes, but you must be vigilant. You need to stop the microwave every 15 seconds to check on the weed drying process. And you need to repeat this process, stopping and checking your weed every 15 seconds until it is dry.

The problem is that you must check it every few seconds during the drying process. And while your weed will dry, the flavor taste will be off.

And if you are unfamiliar with your microwave's power setting, you may burn and destroy a lot of weed in trial-and-error processes before you get the result you seek.

Now that we have discussed the drying process let's now discuss the curing process.

Curing Your Weed

As previously mentioned, curing is a chemical decomposition and additional drying process that decays unnecessary components in the weed while allowing natural THC to become fully viable and potent.

Freshly harvested weed is very green because it contains chlorophyll, an organic compound that makes plants green and helps them to convert sunlight into nourishment and natural sugars.

Freshly harvested weed can be smoked but may taste like grass or hay because of the non-decayed chlorophyll and natural sugars.

And while freshly harvested weed contains THC, it has not had enough time to become more potent via curing. Sometimes the THC in freshly harvested weed is not active enough.

Or the THC is mixed with chlorophyll and natural sugars, which dampens its psychoactive effects.

And even though the slow-drying process removes moisture, the weed may still contain trace amounts of water.

Curing naturally decays chlorophyll and natural sugars while allowing THC to become more potent. Curing also dries out any additional moisture and makes your weed completely dry. Natural curing compels moisture in the weed to be drawn to the surface and evaporated.

You can tell that your weed is curing when it changes from green and assumes some hues of yellow, brown, or orange.

Your weed could assume a variety of colors after curing, depending on the strain.

You don't need to cure your weed, but if you don't, you will end up smoking a product that has not reached its full psychoactive potential. Curing also enhances the natural flavor of weed.

It takes 14 days to cure weed at the minimum. However, curing weed for six months will guarantee high potency and excellent flavor when smoking.

So, at the very least, you should cure your weed for anywhere between 14 days to a month.

Here is how to do it.

The Weed Curing Process

You will need to use sterilized and completely airtight mason jars or glass preserving jars to start the curing process. You can briefly heat the jars in an oven for a few minutes to kill off any lingering bacteria.

If the jars you use are not devoid of bacteria, then the curing process will turn your buds into mold or bacteria sponges. When you open the jar, rotten or ammoniated scents are a sign of bacteria penetration.

Make sure that the harvested weed you cure is very dry. The more moisture and water-rich your weed, the more likely it will spoil or become moldy during the curing process.

And make sure that you trim your buds of fan leaves before curing. Marijuana fan leaves retain a lot of water.

Try to use airtight glass containers instead of Ziploc bags; Ziploc bags are more likely to retain moisture instead of helping the curing process.

Make sure that room that you cure your weed has a humidity level below 55 degrees Fahrenheit.

Curing weed requires you to regularly inspect your buds and check on the curing process.

Put your weed in the airtight glass container. Make sure to leave a third or fourth of the space in the curing container empty. In other words, don't stuff the curing jar with weed.

Gently shake the curing jar. You want to make sure that buds are not sticking together and are loosely packed in together. If they are dry, gentle shaking will loosen them and hopefully prevent mold problems.

Open your curing jars every two to three days. This process is called "burping." Opening the jars periodically will help moisture to evaporate, prevent mold proliferation, and let the buds breathe a bit.

Opening your curing jars from time to time can let you smell them to make sure the weed isn't rotting or becoming moldy as well.

After 14 days to a month, your weed should only retain about 5% to 10% of its original water moisture levels. Curing your weed for six months should evaporate all of the moisture.

You should notice your weed changing color from green and assuming yellow, brown, or orange hues. This is a sign that it is curing correctly.

The ultimate test is to take a test smoke of the bud. You can tell from the flavor and the psychoactive effects if it is cured properly.

Curing also retains terpenes, the compounds that give weeds their signature aroma.

Related: More on Harvesting and Drying Marijuana

Efficient Weed Storage

After your weed is fully cured and dried, you need to store it properly to help it maintain its potency and taste.

Store cured weed in temperature-controlled dark rooms. Natural sunlight will break down the cannabinoids in weed and dampen psychoactive effects.

Always keep your weed in airtight glass containers. If they are properly cured, then you can use airtight Ziploc bags as well for storage.

You can store weed in a refrigerator, but moisture can start invading your weed.

You may want to invest in a weed scale to measure yields and track your progress as a grower. 

Drying Weed FAQ

Does Drying Marijuana Make It Lose Potency?

As long as you properly, slowly, and meticulously dry and cure your marijuana, it should not lose any potency. 

Why is Dry Weed Better Than Wet Weed?

Good, dank weed may be sticky with THC trichomes, but it is dry. Dank weed is not wet from excess water.

Look at it this way, the less your weed weighs, the more you will get out of it. Water and moisture-rich weed are hard to smoke and dampen the full psychoactive potential of THC.

Always dry out and cure your weed.

Why is the Weed Sold in Dispensaries so Dry?

The weed you buy in a dispensary is very old, thoroughly dry, and has probably been professionally cured on an industrial scale for months before being sold to the public.

And that is why dispensary prices are so high; it is always cheaper to grow your own weed if you can.

Conclusion

We have detailed some fast methods for drying marijuana. And all of them should work, although potency and taste will be sacrificed.

We highly recommend that you employ the slow drying method and cure your weed for at least a month. A cake doesn't bake in two minutes. And a farm field does not yield crops in a week.

It takes time to enjoy the best things in life. And if you have the means to grow your own marijuana, why rush it?

Always remember that patience and discipline is a virtue when it comes to growing marijuana.

Grow your own marijuana slowly and efficiently with a Pot for Pot's complete grow kit.